


Beautiful Together

by pretzelmintz



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - No Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Angie represses stuff and Tenko comforts her, But cmon they're teens what do ya expect, Cheesy and Awkward, Crushes, F/F, Feelings, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I gave Angie more of a personality, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Sorta? Not too heavy tho, WLW Danganronpa Secret Santa 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 19:37:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17534936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pretzelmintz/pseuds/pretzelmintz
Summary: Angie and Tenko get paired together for a school project. Although wary at first, Tenko warms up to the artist very quickly, learning about her talent and even more about Angie herself in the process.Written for the WLW Danganronpa Secret Santa 2018!





	Beautiful Together

**Author's Note:**

> For @bottom-passing on Tumblr! I'm your Secret Santa! I really hope you enjoy this. I had so much fun exploring Tenko and Angie's dynamic!
> 
>  
> 
> I'm late with this so I put in extra effort, I truly hope it was worth the wait!
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Tenko looked across the classroom to where the cheerful Ultimate Artist was sitting. It just so happened that the artist was also looking at her. She met her eyes with a wonderous, blinding smile. Her eyes, despite being as blue as rainstorms, were as brilliant as diamonds. Tenko found it hard to be annoyed when the subject of her annoyance was so- _positive._

She should consider herself lucky she got paired up with Angie. Gozu usually let them pick their own partners, but this time he chose them himself. While thankful that she hadn’t been put with an awful menace, she found herself wishing to have been put with Himiko, Kaede, or any of the other girls.

She was so preoccupied, she barely noticed when Gozu dismissed them. Soon, her classmates were standing from their chairs, bags and books shuffling, the sound of light chatter filling the room. Tenko quickly stood and gathered her things, preparing herself to head back to the dorm, but on her way out the door, she was stopped by a sudden hand on her shoulder.

“Tenko!” Angie was staring up at her, bright as ever. “Atua thinks we should start right away! Let us go to your research lab!”

Tenko blinked. “Now?” she frowned. She had planned to spend time with Peko after classes. However, something about Angie’s… _radiance_ made it difficult for her to say no. “Sure, then.”

Angie beamed. “Yay! Angie is very lucky that Atua has blessed me with you as my partner!”

Tenko’s cheeks flared. She was weak for female praise. She brushed it off and hurried away, Angie following with a skip.

 

The project was simple enough. Partners were tasked with analyzing and observing the other’s talent, writing a report about it, and together, they were meant to compare them. That was the reason why Gozu had picked the teams, he wanted to make sure the talents were different enough.

Tenko wasn’t sure why he though her and Angie’s talents were compatible. One obvious similarity was the fact that they were both _arts_ , but while one consisted of paints and sculpting, the other consisted of suplexing menaces. So, Tenko had no idea just what Angie was writing down as the artist watched her punt a dummy across the room. Angie never told her to stop, so she just kept going. Eventually, as she always does, she fell into a rhythm. It was as if no one was watching, as if she were preforming solely for herself.

Then, she turned the look at Angie, who had stopped writing in favour of staring. She looked her up and down, and suddenly Tenko felt very small. It didn’t help that Angie’s expression was unreadable. Not due to lack of emotion, but due to too much of it. Wonder? Shock? Concern? Tenko felt her skin crawl.

Suddenly, the Artist stood up, and marched over to her, abandoning the clipboard and pen on the bench. The mattress barely moved under her weight. “Atua thought that was delightful!”

Tenko deflated. The praise should have lifted her heart, but it wasn’t coming from Angie. It didn’t feel genuine. She managed to hide her disappointment with a chuckle.

“Thanks.”

“Now, do me!”

Tenko paused. “…What?”

“Fight me like those dummies!”

Tenko was extremely taken aback, evident by the widening of her eyes. “…What?!”

“If I truly want to analyse your talent, I must experience it! Now, do not hold back!”

So, Angie wanted her to suplex her? That certainly was a strange request. Had she been anyone else, she would have gladly done so, but… something made her hesitate. Angie wasn’t having it, though.

“Tenkoooo!”

“Okay, okay, uh…”

That was how Angie found herself lying on the mattress, the wind taken from her lungs. Tenko looked mortified.

“Angie, I’m sorry, was that too harsh?! I should have gone easy on you!” Tenko panicked.

Angie stood up slowly, and whispered, “…strong…”

 

The next meeting happened the day after, in Angie’s research lab. Tenko was the one equipped with a clipboard this time, ready to take notes. Angie was busy setting up a canvas and paints. Tenko looked around, this being the first time she had come here. It was untidy and disorderly, white floorboards painted black by spilled buckets of paint. Blocks of sculpting material were lined up on a shelf, with half-carved, unfinished pieces on pedestals in the corner. Tenko had been expecting something more… bright. Instead, most of Angie’s pictures were painted with black.

“Angie,” Tenko began, catching the attention of the Artist. “What do all these paintings represent?” she gestured towards the small canvases hooked across the wall, white with black strokes. While all seemed simple, somehow, they each managed to convey a different emotion.

“Oh!” Angie perked up. “Every day, Angie puts her feelings into art using only black paint! I close my eyes and let Atua guide me.” she clasped her hands together.

Tenko looked closer and say each of the paintings were marked by a date and a title, written underneath. She wondered if it was rude of her to examine them, but the Artist made no comments suggesting so. So, she made her way along the wall. The paintings seemed to start at the beginning of the month. Among them, she found some with a repeating title: “Faith”. Other noteworthy names included “Happy”, “Joyous”, “Cheerful”, “Bright”, and “Sad”. That one made her frown. She had just assumed Angie was never sad. The black strokes of that painting were light and small, as if she had barely touched the canvas. Looking closer, she even noticed a small tear stain. She looked back at Angie, who was now humming happily.

The last painting was the one from yesterday. These strokes weren’t as smooth or elegant; they were quick, jagged, as if Angie’s mind had been racing. Then she noticed the title. “Crush”.

“Oh!” Angie piped up at an abnormally loud volume. “That was from yesterday! Watching you fight had inspired me to paint something more energetic and sporadic! I called it “Crush” because of how you, ah, _crush_ your opponents in a fight!”

Angie tone was fine, but her fingers were twitching. Tenko chose not to comment on it, accepting the artist’s explanation. It almost seemed like Angie had sighed in relief.

“So.” Tenko said, walking over to her. “What are you going to paint today?”

Angie beamed. “I’ll be doing today’s ‘Portrait of Feelings!’ That is what I call them.”

Tenko wrote on her clipboard, taking a seat near Angie, in a position where she could clearly see her face, but not what she was painting.

“Okay.” Tenko said. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Angie nodded, and took a deep breath, dipping her brush in ebony paint. She closed her eyes. At once, her expression shifted. Tenko was dumbfounded. The cheerful look was gone, replaced by complete concentration. Without opening her eyes, Angie began to paint.

Tenko observed every minute detail of the Artist, from the way her brow furrowed to how her jaw clenched. Every now and then, Angie would make a quick movement, dragging the brush across the canvas. Apart from her moving arms, her body was completely still.

It was fascinating to watch. Tenko put the clipboard down and just observed. Soon, she stopped following her arms, instead focusing solely on her face. Angie’s expression did not change, yet it was wondrous to watch.

She never really took the time to just observe other people this way. She regretted it. Watching someone do the one thing they love, the thing they’d known the most for their whole life, was incredible. It was so easy for an Ultimate to get lost in their talent, to lose all sense of their surroundings and solely focus on themselves and their movements, just as she had in her research lab yesterday.

It was beautiful. _Angie_ was beautiful.

The realization hit her just as the Artist’s eyes flew open and her expression shifted; all trace of deep concentration was gone. Those bright yet stormy eyes were on her once again. “That was fun!” she beamed.

“Yeah…” Tenko sighed. “That- you- you paint good.”

Angie giggled. “Tenko, you have not even seen it yet! Angie thanks you, though!”

Tenko stood up and walked over. “Can I? See it, I mean?”

Angie’s eyes traced over the canvas. She blinked. “Nope!”

Tenko was taken aback. “What? Why not?”

Angie was quiet for a bit. “Because! It’s better to imagine what it would look like!”

Tenko wanted to argue but bit her tongue. She didn’t need to see it to write her analysis, anyway. Picking up her clipboard, she headed for the door of the lab. The analog clock indicated it was nearly dinnertime.

“I have to go! Seeya, Angie, and… thanks. That was- really cool to watch.”

“SEE YOU!” Angie yelled back.

It was only a few steps out the door that she realized, looking at the clipboard, that only two things had been written on it; a title, and a miniature doodle of a heart.

_Atua, help me._

The class clapped once Tenko had finished speaking. The two girls had just finished their presentation, and went back to take their seats. Angie walked by Tenko at that moment, and at that exact second, whispered to her.

“Meet me in the garden once after school activities are done.”

 

Tenko practically flew to the garden, startling the members of the Athletic Club. Maki narrowed her eyes at her as she bolted out of the lab.

She didn’t visit the garden much, as it didn’t concern her talent. She would’ve gotten lost had she not asked Gonta for directions right after class.

She didn’t cross anyone on her way there, and when she arrived at the garden, she didn’t spot a single soul. At once, she began to panic.

_Am I late? Too early? Did she say after activities or after class? Is there a second garden on campus? Where is-_

Her worries were dispelled when she spotted a bright yellow cloak appear from behind a bush. There stood Angie, who, despite the darkness, managed to shine. She was clutching something in her hands. At second glance, she figured it was a canvas.

Angie walked over to the panting martial artist, and handed her the canvas without a word. While her eyes were confident, her hands twitched, which Tenko had deduced was her nervous habit. Tenko took the canvas and looked down.

It was painted completely black, a starless night sky, with a single speck of red in the middle. However, upon closer inspection, she noticed the strokes that made up the solid colour, and recognized them as some of the movements Angie had made while painting in front of her last week. In fact, the date at the bottom was of that very day. The title: “Love”.

Tenko then noticed that the seemingly shapeless red speck was actually a miniature heart.

Tenko looked up. “Wh-”

“That is the first time I painted with real colour in a very long time.” Angie interrupted. “I couldn’t let you see that painting. You’d already seen the “Crush” one, I was afraid you’d start figuring it out.”

Tenko sputtered. “Fi- Wha-”

“I was scared. But you knocked some sense into me… literally.” she laughed. “You’re a great person, Tenko, and I couldn’t keep the truth from you any longer.”

Tenko was short circuiting. “Tru-”

Angie took a deep breath. “I like you. I- I _like_ like you!”

“Angie!”

The Artist looked up shyly.

“What’s up with you? You look so nervous! Where’s that cheerful, confident attitude of yours?!”

Angie blinked. “I-I- I… was afraid you would-”

“Angie, don’t ever be afraid to share your true feelings around me! My entire life has been about letting out my feelings and being true with myself and others!”

“Yeah, but,” Angie sighed. “You’re brave. My entire life, I’ve only let my feelings show through my art…”

Tenko’s heart ached. Angie was repressing so much, and despite her confidence and cheer, she was terrified of being honest with herself, and others.

In one swift movement, Tenko took both of Angie’s hands in hers.

“I’m listening! Tell me how you’re feeling right now! Be honest!”

Angie blinked nervously, scrunching up her nose before speaking. “Well, I feel… uh… nervous. Awkward. Scared, but… hopeful…? That maybe you… like me back?”

Tenko realized she had never answered to Angie’s original statement.

“Angie! Of course I do! Of course! I- should have said this sooner. Maybe I do need to face my true feelings more…” she sighed.

Angie giggled. “I… guess we both do. So… let’s do it… together.”

Tenko smiled and squeezed Angie’s hands in hers. “Absolutely.”

**Author's Note:**

> <3


End file.
